Sebastian Haller Reveals Motivation Behind Shock Move to West Ham United

​New West Ham United signing Sebastian Haller has revealed why he believes joining the Hammers was the right career move for him.

Despite initially being touted for a move to a Champions League outfit, the French forward then made a shock £45m move to London Stadium. 

Haller had made himself one of Europe's hottest properties alongside Luka Jovic at Eintracht Frankfurt last season, scoring15 goals and assisting a further nine in the Bundesliga.

In a candid interview with ​​L'Equipe, Haller discussed why he opted to join West Ham instead of one of the top European clubs: “I thought a lot about European football. I wanted it. But in a career, you have to take everything into account. You have to think holistically. And West Ham was a real opportunity.”

Sebastien Haller to L’Equipe: “I thought a lot about European football. I wanted it. But in a career, you have to take everything into account. You have to think holistically. And West Ham was a real opportunity.” #WHUFC

— Ronan Murphy (@swearimnotpaul) July 23, 2019

This change of heart comes after reports that he was only willing to leave Frankfurt if a club playing Champions League football came calling.

Nonetheless, fans of the London club will be pleased they've attained a top striker and will only be encouraged further by other comments he has made.

Speaking to ​West Ham's official website, he said: “The thought of playing in front of 60,000 here was a big attraction, it's the thing that can push you to give 10 per cent more in every game. As long as the fans are here supporting the team, it’s great.

“I’m looking forward to playing inside it with a lot of fans. I want to bring this club a lot of success.”

When asked whether he felt as if any pressure came with his £45m fee, he responded: "Frankly, not really. I arrive in a world, England, where there are huge sums exchanged in each transfer window. I don’t think I’m getting a huge transfer fee on my side. And all this is part of the game.”

And he hasn't been afraid to have his say on the ​Marko Arnautovic saga either: “I am not someone who follows football news. I do not care too much about who was there before me.

"I want to bring all I can and adapt as quickly as possible and repay the confidence that was shown.”

This comes after Manuel Pellegrini finally opted to sell the Austrian powerhouse to Chinese side Shanghai SIPG, with the forward first announcing his desire to leave the London Stadium during the January transfer window.

Whether Haller does now believe that joining West Ham was a great career move, or whether he simply got cold feet following the lack of interest from elite European clubs, we will never truly know.

But one thing is for sure; expectations will be high for West Ham's new record signing, who will be eager to hit the ground running when the ​Hammers kick off their 2019/20 Premier League campaign against last year's champions ​Manchester City - having already lost 4-1 to them in the Asia Trophy semi-final.

Source : 90min